Electeical cgnductoes



1 4 sheets-sheet 3. J.KRUESI.

(No Model.)

MACHINE EOE INSULATING ELECTRICAL CONDUCTCES. NC. 288,454;Y l Patented Nov. 13, 1883.

N. nina Phawumogmpner. wnhingwn. D. c.

(No Modem 4 Sheets-Sheet 4, J.. KRUBSI.

MACHINE FOR INSULATING ELECTRICAL CONDUTORS.

No. 288,454. Patente-dNov. 13, 1883.

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NirEn STATES PATENT @Erica JOHN HRUEsi, OE BROOKLYN, AssIGNoR To THE ELECTRIC TUBE COMPANY, OENEw YORK, N. Y,

MACHINE Foe |NsULA-'r| NGVELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.` 288,454, dated November 13, 1883.

` Application filed April 11, 1853. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN KRUEsI, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings aud State of N ew York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Machines for Insulating Electrical Conductors, of which the following is a Specification1 The object I have in view is to provide an apparatus by means of which electrical conducting-wires which have alreadybeen placed in position upon poles may be wrapped with 4an insulatingcovering, or with strengtheningthe wire it feeds itself along, and also with guide-rollers which assist in centering the body upon the wire. The body also carries a suitable number of tape-holders for holding the coils of insulating-rape, which is the preferable insulating substance, and which unwinds from the holders and Wraps itself around the wire as the machine feeds forward. The angle of Obliquity of the feed-rollers is adjustable to vary the rapidity of the feed, and such rollers are 4also adjustable perpendicularly to the wire, to allow the machine to be used for wires or cables of di'erent sizes. One or more of the feed-rollers should be held against `the wire by a spiral spring, so that if any bend, enlargement, or irregularity in' the wire oc-` curs the roller will give and pass over it, instead of stopping the machine. The guiderollers are also perpendicularly and angularly adjustable, and should be provided with one or more spiral springs, for the purpose just The tape-holders are independently adjustable in different directions, so that the tape can be wound tightly or loosely or in any spiral, or any pitch can be given to the winding. The feed-rollers may be independently adjustable, or may be connected so as to be adjusted simultaneously. .I prefer to employ three feedfrollers, three guide-rollers,

ne myself to these numbers. It is evident that one or more of the tape-holders may be disconnected, if desired. I have also devised a smaller machine, which may be used when it is desired to wind only one strand of insulation upon the wire. In this the body of the machine is placed perpendicularly upon the wire, having a groove or slot in its end in which the wire travels. An arm attached to the body passes around the wire and carries a single adjustable roller, which bears upon the wire opposite the end of the body. A sin'- gle adjustable tape-holder is also carried by the body, and a handle is provided for turning the whole upon the wire, lfeeding the machine along and winding the tape spirally upon it. l

It is evident that my invention can loe applied to the winding of other insulatingcoverings than tape upon wires or to the winding of one wire upon another for strengthen-` ing it.

The invention is illustrated in the annexed drawings, in which Figure l is a view in ele vation of the preferred apparatus; Fig. 2, a partial section and partial elevation, showing'` a guide-roller and a tape-holder with their adjusting devices; Fig. 3, an end view and partial section, showing the arrangement of the feed-rollers; Fig. 4, a section illustrating the adjusting devices of afeed-roller; Fig, 5, a top view ofthe same; Fig. 6, a side elevation of the small machine with onetape-holder; Fig. 7, an end view and partial section of the same without the tape-holder and'handle; Fig. 8, an end view of the machine provided with means for simultaneously adjusting the feed-` rollers; Fig. 9, a sectional view of a part of the-same, and Fig. 10 a detail view of part of this adjusting apparatus.

Referring at present to the first ve figures, A is the body of the machine, consisting of a b. Each feed-roller is carried by a rod, b', extending from the arm C, and revolves between the sides of the forked portions c. The rod b is keyedwithin the sleeve d, and moves up and down therein, being held at the desired height by the set-screw e. The feed-rollers are thus adjustable vertically, and can be placed at different distances apart to accommodate different sizes of wire.

The sleeves d turn within the arms C to change the angle of the feed-rollers upon the wire, and so vary the rapidity of the feed. A scale, f, is provided to indicate the degree of adjustment, and the set-screw g is used to hold the sleeve when it is adjusted to the proper point.

One of the rods bis provided, as seen in Fig.

3, with a spiral spring, h, bearing against the size of the ligure.

arm C, so that if any kink or irregularity occurs in the wire the rollers will be free to pass over it. From the other end of the body A extend the three arms C. These support the guide-rollers c c'. Each guide-roller is carried by a rod, 7c, which enters an aperture in the part Z of the arm C. The rod 7i; turns within the part Z, being held at the proper angle of the roller by the set-screw m. The springs n allow the movement of the rollers away from the wire, so that they adapt them selves to different-sized wires; and when the machine is to be removed from the wire one of the rollers can be pressed back against its spring and secured by its set-screw 'm to release the wire.

Both the feed and guide rollers preferably have roughened or corrugated peripheries, as shown, to give a secure hold upon the wire.

The arms C and C are connected together by rods D, which form handles for turning the machine and serve to give strength to the structure. Parts of the rods D and body A are broken away in the drawings to reduce the The arms G/ carry also the tape-holders. Through the tubular portions E of such arms pass the rods F.

Pivoted at the end of each rod F is an arm, G. Upon each arm G is placed a stationary iiange or ring, o, and above this a sleeve, p,

having a flange, q, is placed. The upper portion ofthe rod G, upon which the spiral spring r is coiled, is not round, but has a flat side, and the flange or ring s has an opening of similar shape, so that it can move longitudinally upon the rod, butl cannot turn upon it. The lflange t and sleeve p, however, are free to turn upon the rod. When it is desired to place la roll of tape, H, upon the rod, the thumb-screw l, spring r, and iianges s andt are removed and the roll placed upon the sleeve p, against the flange q. The parts are then replaced and the ianges st are pressed down tightly against the roll by turning the thumb-screw. The flange t and sleeve p turn with the roll, while the other parts are stationary. By adjusting the thumb-screw the rod can be arranged for tapes of different widths, 'or narrow tape could be placed directly upon the rod G, between the flange t and sleeve p. By forcing the ilanges s and t more or less tightly against the tape the winding can be retarded to a greater or less extent, and consequently the tape can be wound tightly or loosely upon the wire.

The rods F are adjustable through the tubular portions E of the arms C, being held at the desired point by set-screws u, and a scale is provided upon each rod F to mark the extent of adjustment. B v thus moving the tapeholders back or forward the pitch of the winding is changed, so that the tape can be`wound at any spiral. Each rod G is also adjustable angularly at its pivoted point, and is held at the proper angle by screwing the thumbscrew w down upon the segment J, which is provided with a scale atx for indicating the adjustment. By this angular adjustment the position of the tape-holder is varied for wires of different diameters and for different widths of tape.

The winding is accomplished by turningthe IOO the body A is placed vertically upon the wire B, the wire passing through the groove From the body A an arm, K, passes-around the wire, whicharm carries the roller L. Such roller is held in bearings at the end of rod M. Rod M is keyed to a sleeve, N, which turns in an aperture in the arm K. The rod Mis lon gitudinall y adjustable in the sleeve N, and said sleeve turns in the arm K, and is held at the proper point by screwing down the nut O. This accomplishes the angular adjustment of the roller. A spiral spring, l?, is also provided, for the purpose before explained.

The body A is provided with a handle, Q, for rotating it upon the wire, and the tapeholder, constructed and arranged substantially like those previously described, is pivoted upon said body. By rotating the machine asingle strand of tape is wound upon the wire B. This form of machine may be a desirable one in some cases.

Figs. 8, 9, and l() illustrate an arrangement for adjusting the feed-rollers simultaneously.

A circular back piece, R, is supported from.

b', to which are keyed sleeves a, formed intoV bevel-gears at c. These sleeves are held between the rings and S', so that they have no IIO longitudinal movement, but canturn in either direction, carrying the rods b and the rollers. Between the bevel-gears c and the back piece, R, a ring, T, is supported between the rings S S', but in such manner that it can revolve. The inner edge of this ring is formed into a bevel-gear which engages with the bevel-gears c. It is evident that when either of the rods b is turned to adjust the angle of its roller the ring T will turn, and engaging with all the other rods b the same adjustment of all `the rollers will be performed simultaneously. This provides for the angular` adjustment of the feed-rollers. For vertically adjusting them I provide another ring. U, supported bythe frame and provided with two oblique slots, e e'. Pins f f on the rods b b enter these slots, so that when the ring is'turned the rods are forced in one or the other direction. One of the rods b is,however,provided with thespring g', forforcing it toward the wire. Therefore, instead of providing a slot, a part of the ring is removed at h', and the pin presses upon the oblique edge thus formed, so that when the ring is turned the roller is forced away from the wire.

The ring U may be turned by means of the pinion i', whose shaft 7c extends `out from the ring andl may be grasped by a wrench; or it may be turned in any other suitable manner.

It is evident that most of the special devices described can be used with a stationary machine through which the wire is fed either by the feed-rollers or by other suitable" automatic and variable feed mechanisms. The machine would be supported in a suitable framework andturned by power and the wire fed through What I claim is-n 1. A machine for winding wire with insula-l tion, having an open body adapted to be supported directly upon the wire, and to travel for propelling said body forward, and one or more tape-holders carried by said body, substantially as set forth.

4. In a machine for winding wire with insula tion, the combination,with a body adapted to be placed upon a wire, of one or more propelling or feed rollers attached to said body and resting upon the wire, and one or more tape-holders carried by said body, substantially as set forth. e

5. In a machine for winding wire with insulation, the combination, with the longitudinally-slotted tubular body, of propelling or feed rollers attached to said body and resting upon the wire, and one or more tape-holders carried by said body, substantially as set forth.

6. In a machine for winding wire with insulation, the combination, with a body adapted to travel upon the wire, of guide-rollers and propelling or feed rollers attachedto said body and resting upon the wire, and one or more tape-holders carried by said body, substantially as set forth..

7. In a machine for winding wire with insulati on, the combination, with the body adaptedto travel upon the wire, of the perpendicularly-adjustable propelling or feed rollers attached to said body and resting upon the wire, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination, with the body, of the angularly-adjustable propelling or feed rollers, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination, with the body, of the angularly and perpendicularly adjustable propelling or feed rollers, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination, with the body and two or more propelling or feed rollers attached thereto, of means for adjusting both or all said rollers simultaneously, substantially as set forth.

11. The combination, with the angularly-adj ustable feed-rollers, of a scale for determining the eXtent'of adjustment of each, substantially as set forth.

12. In a machine for winding wire with insulation, the combination, with a body adapt-- ed to travel upon the wire, of perpendicularly and angularly adjustable guide rollers and feed-rollers attached to said body and resting uponthe wire, substantially as set forth.

13. In a machine for winding wire with insulation, having a body adapted to travel upon the wire, the combination, with a propelling-` roller or guide-roller resting upon the wire, of a spring forcing such rollertoward the wire, substantially as set forth.

14. In a machine for winding wire with insulation, the combination, with a supportingbody, of one or more tape-holders each adjustable longitudinally for varyingthe relative longitudinal positions of successive spiral layers ofthe winding, substantially as set forth.

15. In a machine for winding wire with insulation, the combination, with a supportingbody, of tape-holders carried by said body,v

each adjustable angularly to accommodate wires of different sizes, substantially as set forth. l

16. In a machine for winding wire with insulation, the combination, with a rod for holding a tape-reel, of a stationary flange and an adjustable flange upon said rod, between which said reel is placed, whereby the tension of the winding is made adjustable, substantially as set forth.

17. In a machine for winding wire with insulation, the angularly and longitudinally adjustable tape holders, substantially as set forth.

. 18. The combination, with the adjustable IOO tapeholders, of scales for indicating the ex- This speoloition signed and witnessed this tent of their adjustment, substantially as sot 6th day of April, 1888. forth.

19. In a machine for winding Wire with in- JOHN KRUEST. sulation, the combination, with a supportingbody7 of one or more arms extending there- `Witnesses y from, adjustable rods carried by each of such H. W'. SEELY, arnis7 and a roller Carried by each of said rods, E. H. PYATT. substantially as set fortl'n l 

